The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly going to have a lot of work to do this off season. But as they look to make move to strengthen the roster around Luka Doncic, they should probably be avoiding Phoenix Suns center Nick Richards.
Richards is expected to be available via trade this summer. But although the Lakers are in the hunt for more frontcourt depth after trading away Anthony Davis, I believe going after Richards would actually be a mistake for a team that has real dreams of winning a championship.
After spending the first four and a half years of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, Richards was dealt to the Suns ahead of the 2025 trade deadline just a few months ago. Based on what we've seen so far in his career, it's not really reasonable to think that Nick can be a starting level center on a team with legitimate championship aspirations. It's more plausible to see him as a solid backup, and that's not meant to be a slight on him at all.
The Lakers will want to avoid Nick Richards
It's simply what we've gathered from the first five seasons of Richards' career as a professional. Nick Richards of course has his moments. But he doesn't provide any element of floor spacing, isn't a top-level rim protector, and can be inconsistent rebounding the ball. Overall, it would be reasonable to say his offensive game is a bit limited.
When we look at the Lakers' current roster needs, it's just not a very clean fit. With LA looking to retool their team around Doncic, you simply can't afford to waste a roster spot if you're really trying to make a deep run in the Western Conference next season. Even if you were able to get Richards on a minimum deal, it simply doesn't feel like a gamble that has a high chance of paying off.
I would say what Los Angeles really needs at the center position is a more modern, mobile big who can be switchable defensively and guard multiple positions. Offensively, they'd like to have somebody who can help the offense retain its natural flow while being an occasional threat to knock down a jump shot.
Overall, Nick Richards is just not going to be worth the risk if you're the Lakers. To me, if you're trying to build a team that can go deep into March and April, you're going to want to target a big that checks more of the aforementioned boxes, and one that has a reliable track record in the playoffs.